Tourism works in Adams County, Pa.

L​iberty Mountain Resort is finishing up its latest project - an outdoor ice rink at the foot of its ski slopes in Carroll Valley.

The 4,000-square-foot rink is oval- shaped and is expected to accommodate about 70 skaters at a time, the resort reported. It will be used only for recreational skating and guests can rent skates on site. The rink will be open daily.

Also included in this project is a wooden pavilion, stone fireplace and outdoor seating area. In the summer months, the ice skating area will become a grass lawn and the pavilion can be used for weddings and other special events.

Liberty Mountain Resort has not announced an opening date.

This project follows Liberty Mountain Resort's completion and opening last year of its new Highland Lodge, which features new hotel rooms, spa, golf pro shop and meeting and banquet rooms overlooking the Carroll Valley Golf Course.

Meet Jackie Canino, the smiling face behind the bar at One Lincoln Food & Spirits in Downtown Gettysburg, Pa. As Food & Beverage Supervisor at Gettysburg Hotel, Jackie ensures that visitors to Gettysburg are not only provided a great dining experience, but are served with the utmost hospitality.

This fall, work is underway at Gettysburg's Hampton Inn on Route 30. The project includes an exterior facelift to the building, as well as new signage, stonework and lighting. The interior work was completed in 2013 and this current project should be completed by early 2017.

Smith Travel Research (STR)'s reporting of hotel demand across participating hotels in Adams County is down just 2.4 percent so far this year, as compared to 2015 - a year that overnight stays topped the 150th Anniversary year in 2013.

Overall revenue among those properties, however, is up 1.4 percent over the same months in 2015.

In addition, the average daily rate through September is up by $4.08 to $108.18 per night over 2015. RevPAR, a common barometer for hoteliers that measures total revenue divided by the total rooms (filled or empty), is up 5 percent, to $60.48.

Some of the decrease for hotel demand in 2016 can be attributed to the month of August where high temperatures remained in the 90s for much of the month and demand was almost 11 percent under 2015, the year the postponed re-enactment was held in August.

Hotel occupancy is a strong barometer for the tourism industry, but visitors typically spend more money on dining, shopping, recreation and transportation, according to state economic studies.

Already a popular fruit stand stop on the Gettysburg Wine and Fruit Trail, Boyer Nurseries and Orchards added a tasting room for wine and cider, some of which utilizes Boyer products.

"We felt we needed something else to attract attention to our business and give people a reason to come out here, and we had this building that was being underutilized, and for years people had been commenting about turning it into a restaurant, but we thought a tasting room might be better," said co-owner David Lower.​Lower said he'd been tossing the idea around for a while, but it didn't take root until one of his customers put him in touch with award-winning wine maker Matt Cimino, of the Maryland-based Great Shoals Winery.

Norris Flowers, President of Destination Gettysburg presented Donna McCleaf, owner of The Flower Boutique in Gettysburg, the award for Best Florist for the Meetings and Events market. The Flower Boutique was chosen for this award by the readers of Pennsylvania Meetings + Events magazine as part of their Best of Pennsylvania 2016 contest.

Destination Gettysburg was also named a top destination marketing organization by Pennsylvania Meetings + Events, as part of the same reader survey.

Additionally, the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center received top honors in the state as “Best Historic or Cultural Venue” edging out the Phoenixville Foundry and the Liberty View at Independence Visitor Center. Gettysburg’s “The Flower Boutique” also won as “Best Florist” in the state.

Several other members of Destination Gettysburg were named as finalists in their respective categories. Those businesses include:

Destination Gettysburg markets heavily to meeting and event planners in the Mid-Atlantic United States, especially to those interested in unique meeting and event venues as well as those looking to participate in the destination’s popular leadership development programs – which connect the community’s rich history to modern-day decisions that are made in today’s organizations and corporations.

The owners of the historic Farnsworth House Inn are expanding their promotion of history and education.The inn will host an open house Saturday for its revamped Civil War camp, which provides visitors with an authentic look at what life was like on an 1860s farmstead.

Relocated from its former location across the street, the expanded camp is now tucked into a hidden piece of property just off the alley behind the Farnsworth House. The move represents the culmination of a vision Farnsworth House owner Loren Shultz had for the property many years back.​"We've been trying for 10 years to use this land for something, but it was zoned for hospital, and we couldn't get permission. And then finally a couple years ago, they gave me permission to operate it during the summer," said Shultz, who toyed with the idea of doing an outdoor theater before deciding upon the Civil War camp."I wanted to start the camp over here anyway, and now we can do what we always wanted to do with it," Shultz said.

The readers of Pennsylvania Meetings + Events – a trade publication targeting meeting, conference and event planners – have voted Destination Gettysburg the top destination marketing organization of cities/towns less than 25,000 people.

The award was presented as part of Pennsylvania Meetings + Events’ annual “Best of Pennsylvania” ceremony last week in Philadelphia. Other finalists included the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau as well as Lackawanna County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"We are proud of this accomplishment," said Norris Flowers, President of Destination Gettysburg. "This is evidence of the hard work of the staff, the board of directors, as well as the membership of Destination Gettysburg."

The meetings market – which encompasses conventions, conferences and events – is an important part of Destination Gettysburg’s marketing, the organization said. While Gettysburg is largely a leisure travel destination, meetings and conferences provide substantial economic benefits year-round and during the week.